HIND HADI MAJEED* AND SAHIB YAHYA AL-MURSHEDI
Department of Urology, Infertility Center, College of Medicine, University of Kufa, Iraq
*(e-mail : 65hind@gmail.com; Mobile : +964 7822280934)
(Received : June 17, 2019; Accepted : August 20, 2019)
ABSTRACT
Subfertility affects about 15% of couples within the reproductive-age group. The Middle East is considered one of the areas with the highest rate of subfertility. About 88 sub-fertile couples were involved in this study after meeting the inclusion criteria during the period from October 2018 to March 2019. At the day of oocyte pickup, follicular fluid samples were taken after removal of the oocyte for later analysis of melatonin in order to evaluate the precise role of melatonin on pregnancy state and ICSI outcome. The results of this study showed that pregnancy rate increased significantly in females with higher level of melatonin in the follicular fluid (P<0.05). Furthermore, the subfertility etiologies showed a statistically significant difference in follicular fluid levels of melatonin with the highest level present in those with male factor subfertility. Correlation study showed that melatonin level was positively correlated with ICSI outcomes, as retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes (MII), fertilized oocytes (2 pn), cleaved zygotes, good quality embryos and embryos suitable for transfer, although, the difference was not statistically significant except for top quality embryo (G1). In conclusion, the study revealed that melatonin level in follicular fluid positively influenced ICSI outcome and pregnancy rate. Key words : Subfertility, melatonin, follicular fluid, oxidative stress